201. If You're Selling Your Face, Make the Stage as Big as Possible.
Kang Moo-hyuk met the Yeokcheon Guild in Sinuiju.
“Kang Moo-hyuk.”
“Baek Gwi.”
A straightforward introduction without any flowery words.
The two faced each other with cold expressions, as if heading into battle.
But there was someone with Kang Moo-hyuk whose emotions overrode any chill.
“Baek Gwi? Using a fake name instead of an epithet means you've got a shady past. If you try any tricks in front of me, you're all dead here.”
As Joo Se-ah laid down her threat, Do Dae-cheol, standing rigidly behind Baek Gwi, bristled.
“Who the hell do you think you are, actin' like we're beggin' with our necks out? Get ready to die yourselves.”
“What kind of guts is this? Don't you know your place?”
Rather than anger, Joo Se-ah showed bewilderment first.
At that moment, Baek Gwi shot Do Dae-cheol a sidelong glare and scolded him.
“Guild Master Joo Se-ah is the one who just became an S-rank hunter recently. Captain Do Dae-cheol, apologize to her. And Guild Master Joo, please forgive him. The info on her hasn't spread beyond a few major guilds yet, so he was rude out of ignorance.”
“S-sorry, ma'am. I didn't know you were a top-tier hunter and was rude.”
Do Dae-cheol switched attitudes immediately. Unlike his snarling just moments ago, he now bowed at a perfect ninety degrees, but Joo Se-ah couldn't shake her unease.
'This ain't some rigged game. But this Baek Gwi guy has his underlings on a tight leash... I tried to seize the initiative, but it ain't working.'
Joo Se-ah exchanged glances with Kang Moo-hyuk.
'Barkin' stops here?'
'If you're stoppin', you shouldn't have started.'
At Kang Moo-hyuk's signal, she pressed on.
“In this business, not knowin' means you die.”
“If death brings forgiveness, I'll offer my neck to Comrade Captain Joo Se-ah right here.”
Do Dae-cheol dropped to his knees and stretched out his neck, signaling for a swift execution. There was no fear in his eyes.
At this point, Joo Se-ah was the one flustered.
“What the hell? You filmin' a historical drama? You're way behind the times.”
Baek Gwi drew the sword Do Dae-cheol had been holding and offered it to Joo Se-ah.
“Strike.”
“What?”
“If this one's life fulfills our wish, his sacrifice won't be worthless.”
“Let's hear what that wish is first.”
As Joo Se-ah faltered, Kang Moo-hyuk stepped in.
“We need to know how grand a wish it is to use a nickname over your real name and treat a man's life like a fly's before we hear the rest.”
It meant no deal without revealing their intentions.
Baek Gwi spoke.
“My real name is Pyo Jeo-hu. My father was a hunter from Pyeongan Province. I was ten then, so it's been thirty years. I'm ready to return home.”
No long backstory was needed. Kang Moo-hyuk grasped the full context from those few words.
'Thirty years ago—that's the North Korean hunter coup. From Pyeongan Province, so he was part of the core group.'
Back then, the coup leaders had fled to China with their families en masse. Some left relatives behind. Their descendants formed the prison village faction in Sinuiju. And now, one of those exiles' heirs had appeared.
Kang Moo-hyuk also intuited why they approached him.
“If you think granting Korean citizenship to Sinuiju folks means you'll get it too, that's a big mistake. I can't help with that—I'm saying it upfront.”
“Captain Kang, you're too modest. Everyone knows who led the charge in northern Korea and Makyung. No need to dodge. Be honest: it's not that you can't help, it's that you won't.”
“Correct. No reason to bother. The old coup exiles are a whole different issue from accepting Sinuiju. It's a headache that won't show results despite the effort.”
“That means you'll do it if the price is right, right?”
“So the evidence on Hwangryong Guild's incident isn't enough for the table.”
Here, Baek Gwi swallowed hard.
He'd thought it valuable enough to corner Hwangryong Guild, but his opponent showed no urgency.
Too composed to be an act.
'Like he doesn't need the evidence anyway.'
Baek Gwi quickly read the source of that composure.
'He has other proof. But nothing solid.'
They'd even brought the newly S-ranked Joo Se-ah. If no negotiation was intended, they'd have ignored them. No need for this meeting.
Kang Moo-hyuk seemed to need confirmation.
“Name your terms plainly.”
“Evidence. A negotiation table with Hwangryong Guild. And...”
Kang Moo-hyuk pointed at Baek Gwi.
“A public face.”
“Me?”
“The evidence's credibility depends on who provides it.”
Kang Moo-hyuk's demand was firm.
'Cutting off my retreat.'
Baek Gwi pondered.
The third condition meant Kang Moo-hyuk didn't trust him. To earn trust, he'd have to become a thorough traitor to the Chinese side.
'Cleverer than expected. I never planned an easy path, but losing a contingency card stings. What to do?'
Options abounded, but the outcome was fixed.
With the gate boss plan to Korea failed, the least-damaging path to their goal was accepting Kang Moo-hyuk's offer.
And this level of blood loss was bearable.
The Chinese Communist Party and guilds would look askance, but they'd always been outsiders there anyway—no great loss of connections.
Finally, Baek Gwi spoke.
“If you're selling your face, make the stage as big as possible.”
“We'll mobilize every domestic media outlet. Foreign press too.”
Kang Moo-hyuk planned contingencies before meeting Hwangryong Guild.
“Hwangryong Guild Expedition Team 3. Expedition Leader Diniger Al Gao Hunter. And 2nd Party Leader Shirin Nai Sha Hidi from the same team. Correct?”
Diniger Al hadn't grasped the situation yet. Or rather, couldn't accept it.
He woke up not in China, but Korea. The Korean before him was Kang Moo-hyuk, the non-hunter name buzzing in Korea's hunter circles lately. That made it even more bewildering.
Shirin Nai felt the same. Her mind was a mess. But one thing was clear: they lived because of these people.
Kang Moo-hyuk continued regardless of their reactions.
“Hwangryong Guild's Expedition Team 3 has you two as the only survivors. Thrown into an S-rank fight without proper prep—natural outcome. Still, two survivors is a miracle.”
“Better to die than get caught by you.”
“Captain, no need to go that far...”
As Diniger Al snapped harshly, Shirin Nai tried to restrain him.
From Diniger Al's first words, Kang Moo-hyuk read his plight.
“Your families are hostages.”
Kang Moo-hyuk knew well how Uyghurs were treated in China. Not slaves, but usable as such when convenient. Same in the hunter world. Disposable pawns sacrificed first. In retreats from strong monsters, they'd be the wall while others fled. A few Uyghur hunters dying? No concern.
To enforce such sacrifices, strong leverage was needed. Hunters' power couldn't be suppressed outright. So make them submit willingly—and hostages were perfect for that.
“Asindani, that makes talk easier. Thanks for saving our lives, but we can't cooperate in any way. Sorry.”
“What I want is testimony on Hwangryong Guild's gate opener. And that they activated it to open the Jilin City gate.”
Kang Moo-hyuk stated his business, ignoring their will.
'No mercy here. Maybe death's better.'
To protect family.
Reading Diniger Al's darkening face, Shirin Nai offered an excuse.
“Even as witnesses, testimony without proof will be dismissed as one-sided claims.”
Kang Moo-hyuk tossed a thick file onto Shirin Nai's bed.
“What's this?”
“Proof. Gate opener documents.”
Diniger Al snatched the papers from Shirin Nai's bed.
Skimming the dense text, charts, and blueprints, he muttered “My God” in disbelief.
“Such detailed internals... You have a spy in Hwangryong Guild?”
“It just rolled in.”
“Too detailed for a lucky find.”
“We have the machine too.”
“The machine...?”
Diniger Al questioned incredulously.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“What doesn't?”
“Only Jilin City gate had it. The city was obliterated in the grim reaper and demon fight. Debris might remain, but not the intact device.”
“Kamenisky smuggled it out before the battle. If you saw one, it was probably just the case. The core's already safe.”
Documents, core device, witnesses.
Undeniable proof.
But Diniger Al held firm.
“Even ironclad evidence won't change my mind. Kill us.”
“You value life too lightly.”
“Then our families can live in peace. The guild will provide for them.”
Kang Moo-hyuk handed over another file.
“What's this?”
“UN Hunter Bureau report on what happens to Uyghur hunters' families after they die on missions. Includes some Hwangryong Guild cases.”
With trembling hands, Diniger Al turned the first page. Speed increased with each page. Soon, he scanned only photos. Then his hands froze.
Shirin Nai, peeking, widened her eyes at the scene. She rose on her unsteady body, approached Diniger Al's bed, and snatched the file to read.
“I-is this real? These photos... real?”
“You know them?”
“Former Expedition Team 3 Captain Burhan's family.”
Diniger Al answered.
Kang Moo-hyuk expressed regret.
“My deepest condolences. Sadly, no survivors from Hunter Burhan's family.”
The report noted minimal compensation after the breadwinner's death, subsidies for initial months.
Then subsidies cut, livelihoods uncertain. Their son awakened as a hunter, conscripted to another guild, used the same way, and died. No compensation even for him.
“Harsh to say, but just a matter of time. Your families will end up the same. If you doubt, I'll inquire unofficially about their status. Confirm treatment and compensation.”
Diniger Al and Shirin Nai stared blankly at the report.
They'd been ready to die for their families, trusting the guild's care.
That trust shattered, they muttered lost.
“So what do you want from us? Even if we do, will our families be safe?”
“Handled right, you might reunite with them safely.”
Kang Moo-hyuk offered hope, but Diniger Al viewed it cynically.
Forced into Hwangryong Guild, hope was a forced illusion.
Hunt monsters, earn byproducts, support family.
We're better off than other Uyghurs. Not rich, but not starving.
Brainwashed themselves lifelong.
Too many tragedies to fall for Kang Moo-hyuk's words instantly.
“You need time. I'd give it, but we're pressed. Decide by tomorrow.”
Kang Moo-hyuk left without pressing further.
A long night awaited Diniger Al and Shirin Nai.
-How's Khabarovsk?
Nikolai Kamenisky, receiving Kang Moo-hyuk's call, chewed his lip and replied.
“Got a perfect Korean phrase: total bullshit. Can't even enter—just circling nearby. No sane country would suicide here.”
-Matches our simulation.
“Spot on. Needs at least four S-ranks minimum. Top support teams, max gear—just to contend.”
Kamenisky's gaze fixed on the Amur River basin turned lake.
Even as a dragonkin, altering a river's course—that power.
In the Great War, he wasn't high-rank. Never faced dragonkin, only heard tales. Now, the ancient dragon tomb stories revived vividly.
Frustrated, Kamenisky changed topics.
“Not calling for an impossible raid. Why the call?”
-The item from Jilin City gate. The Hwangryong Guild machine you hid.
“……”
-Hand it over.